Skip to content
Cynthia Leitich Smith
  • Books for Kids
  • Books for Young Adults
  • Cynsations
  • Home
  • About
  • Events
  • Kids’ Books
  • YA Books
  • Heartdrum Imprint
  • Cynsations
  • Writer Resources
  • Book Resources
  • Contact
Cynsations

Tag: Jane Pica

Guest Interview: Illustrator Jane Pica on Drawing Spooky Stories

Posted on March 10, 2020March 13, 2020

By Cory Putman Oakes

It’s Day 2 of my Cynsations spooky middle grade takeover!

Today’s post is an interview with Jane Pica, the illustrator for The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street (Amulet, Aug. 18, 2020). She is responsible for the gorgeous cover and the interior illustrations.

Continue Reading Guest Interview: Illustrator Jane Pica on Drawing Spooky Stories »

Guest Post: Cory Putman Oakes on Writing Spooky Middle Grade Books

Posted on March 9, 2020March 13, 2020

By Cory Putman Oakes

My next book, The Second Best Haunted Hotel on Mercer Street, is coming out from Abrams/Amulet on Aug. 18 and is now available for preorder. To celebrate, I’m taking over Cynsations this week to talk about spooky middle grade!

Continue Reading Guest Post: Cory Putman Oakes on Writing Spooky Middle Grade Books »

About Cynsations


Cynthia Leitich Smith is a New York Times bestselling, award-winning author for young readers. Her 2023 release is HARVEST HOUSE, an Indigenous YA ghost mystery. Her most recent previous books are ANCESTOR APPROVED: INTERTRIBAL STORIES FOR KIDS, which was an ALA Notable Children’s Book; SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA, which received six starred reviews; and HEARTS UNBROKEN, which won an American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award. She also is the author-curator of
Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint, and a member of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA faculty.

Cynsations Staff: Publisher Cynthia Leitich Smith; Editor-in-Chief/Author’s Assistant Gayleen Rabakukk; Intern Suma Subramaniam; Intern AJ Eversole; Intern Bree Bender; Industry News Reporter Gail Vannelli; and the Cynsational Reporters: Rebecca Kirshenbaum; Helen Kampion; Elisabeth Norton; Veeda Bybee; Clara Hammett; Michael Leali; Linda Joy Singleton.

Learn more about Cynsations here.

Subscribe to Cynsations

Get Cynsations by Email

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously

© 1998–2023 Cynthia Leitich Smith
Author Consultant CLS, LCC

Privacy Policy